Drew Brutcher went 4-for-5 with three extra-base hits in Sunday’s 6-3 victory.
TAMPA (March 6, 2022) – Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) recorded four hits, including his first career multi-homer game, on Sunday afternoon as the University of South Florida Bulls (7-4) defeated Brown University (2-4), 6-3 in the finale of a three-game series at USF Baseball Stadium.
South Florida has won back-to-back weekend series, including a sweep over Stony Brook last weekend.
Brutcher’s solo home run in the bottom of the first inning staked starting pitcher Orion Kerkering (Venice) to a 1-0 lead. Carmine Lane added an RBI-single in the second ahead of Brutcher’s second homer in as many at-bats, a three-run blast to the opposite field, to make it a 5-0 ballgame.
Making his second start of the season, Kerkering (2-1) struck out a career high 10 batters. The right-hander turned in his longest career outing and allowed two runs on five hits with just one walk over 6.0 IP.
Brown tallied its first run of the day off Kerkering in the fourth frame and got one more in the sixth.
Nelson Rivera (Toa Alto, Puerto Rico) capped the Bulls’ scoring with an RBI-double in the fifth inning. Rivera finished the game 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Hunter Mink (Palm Harbor) picked up his third save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning on the mound for USF as Nick Gonzalez (Tampa) turned in a web gem at shortstop with a game-ending double play.
Notable
- Lane extended his hitting streak to 11 straight games to begin the season.
- Brutcher’s two-homer game and 11 total bases are the most since Lane homered twice and recorded 10 bases on May 15, 2021 at Wichita State.
- Brutcher has reached base safely in all 11 games this season.
- Brutcher has four home runs and 12 RBI over his last six games.
- Kerkering has recorded 28 strikeouts over 16.1 IP this season in four appearances.
- Devin Hemenway (Niceville) bridged the gap from Kerkering to H. Mink with two innings out of the bullpen.
- H. Mink has struck out nine batters and allowed just two hits over 6.0 IP in four appearances this year.
- Bulls pitchers struck out 45 Brown Bears over the three-game series and now have six games this season with at least 10 strikeouts in a game.
Up Next
The Bulls continue their eight-game homestand next week with five games in Tampa. First up is a two game series again Boston College on March 8-9. USF will then host Bradley for a three-game weekend series on March 11-13.
For tickets, please visit usfbullstix.com or call 1-800-Go-Bulls.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 57th season in 2022. Head coach Billy Mohl is entering his fifth season at the helm. The Bulls have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including four since 2015, and earned their first-ever Super Regional berth in 2021. USF was ranked in the Top 25 by five different publications in the final 2021 polls, checking in as high as No. 16. The Bulls have won five conference tournament titles (3 Sun Belt, 1 Metro and 1 American) and six regular season championships (3 Sun Belt, 2 Metro and 1 C-USA). USF baseball players have been recognized with All-America honors 12 times, most recently with third baseman David Villar in 2018, and 18 have earned Freshman All-America accolades, most recently Drew Brutcher and Carmine Lane in 2021. Four players were selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, including the program’s fourth first-round selection in pitcher Shane McClanahan, who made his Major League debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series and was the Rays’ postseason game one starter in 2021.
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